


Owner Of A Lonely Heart

by Akumeoi



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: (the tags are so out of order...), Alpha/Omega, Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV, Character Development, Developing Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, First Time, Fluff and Angst, Getting Together, Intimacy, M/M, Omega Verse, Oral Sex, Self-Esteem Issues, it's soft and tender like a fillet mignon, platonic neck massage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-15
Updated: 2020-03-15
Packaged: 2021-02-26 12:56:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22819156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akumeoi/pseuds/Akumeoi
Summary: As royalty, Noctis is expected to use his natural alpha abilities to have "presence", which he achieves by repressing most of his outward emotional displays and hating every second of it. Then, his new best friend Prompto finds out about his suffering and tries to help make him feel better. The care that Prompto shows him leads Noctis to hope that maybe something can grow between them...
Relationships: Prompto Argentum/Noctis Lucis Caelum
Comments: 17
Kudos: 148





	Owner Of A Lonely Heart

**Author's Note:**

> By spacing all the events of this fic out probably way too much, I have achieved a high school AU with sex that's NOT underage. (I'm imagining both Prompto and Noctis are 18 by November of the senior year since their bdays are in Oct and Aug respectively.) Hence, no warnings. No one freak out.
> 
> Details of the a/b/o in this fic, cuz every a/b/o fic is different:  
○ Contains: scent glands, pheromones, mentions of scent-marking, penis knots (no actual knotting), male omegas who self-lubricate during sex, dubious worldbuilding  
○ Does not contain: going into heat (although it is possible within the universe), mpreg (no way), possessive or subordinate behaviour due to gender, crooning, nesting
> 
> Thanks so much to Astraia for the beta!

Noctis is an alpha. That’s just part of the whole Lucis Caelum thing - royalty is supposed to have be commanding, and they get a lot of that from their advantageous biology. Normal people don’t have to care about their gender - well, Noctis assumes they do care, but not to the extent that he has to. Not to the extent of having to be specifically tutored in how to take advantage of their natural abilities. If any alpha other than a noble alpha went around trying to use their biological abilities to dominate everyone in the room, they would be shunned.

But Noctis is supposed to have _presence_. 

By high school, he’s good at it - good at standing tall and intimidating everyone around him, good at hiding all of his emotions behind a blank façade or by faking a different emotion entirely, good at manipulating his own physical response to someone so he appears welcoming and meek, the perfect gentleman alpha. 

He hates it. Everyone else gets to let their hormone-fueled anger or annoyance or whatever other emotion flare unchecked and stink up the room with something unpleasant, so why can’t he? Why can’t he just be a normal teenager who responds to other people’s feelings naturally sometimes, instead of constantly faking a response that’s “appropriate”? Sometimes he’s not even sure if he can show anything real anymore.

On the first day of high school, Noctis is minding his own business as usual when someone yells his name from behind. He turns to find a blond kid he vaguely recognises from middle school running towards him like Noctis is his long lost best friend, even though they’ve only spoken a handful of times.

“I’m Prompto,” the kid says, “Nice to meet you!”

Noctis sniffs silently and looks Prompto up and down. Male, omega, same year as him, the personal scent complex but not unpleasant. This scent… he’s smelled it before, but different. It was overwhelmingly anxious, then. Now Prompto is smiling wide, and the welcoming demeanour is rolling off of him in waves. Beneath it all Noctis detects a hint of that nervousness still lingering. He’s intrigued. Noctis gives a small smile to encourage Prompto, and that alone makes Prompto beam, but it doesn’t make the underlying nervousness go away.

“Don’t I know you?” Noctis asks, and the nervousness spikes. 

Noctis wonders… what is Prompto afraid of? Is it Noctis’s social status, his gender? Is it of being remembered badly and of being rejected? What’s striking to Noctis is that, despite being nervous, Prompto seems to be trying so hard to make a good impression. Noctis feels bad about being intimidating. If Prompto really wants to be his friend, he doesn’t want to make him feel unwelcome.

So Noctis, using the techniques he has so far been taught, tries to manipulate his own pheromones to broadcast feelings of welcome, of curiosity, and of friendship. 

The set of Prompto’s shoulders relaxes, his smile more genuinely reaches his eyes. 

“Wanna sit next to me in class?” Noctis finds himself asking. Noctis is the only student in class who gets the privilege of choosing both his seat and his seat-mate. It’s not like he has any actual friends to ask, so he might as well invite this well-meaning semi-stranger. And it was the right thing to say: Prompto beams. Together, they walk to class and sit down beside each other for the very first time.

As the teacher calls roll, Noctis tones down his scent profile again to make it as neutral as possible. He doesn’t want other students getting the wrong idea: he’s not welcoming them; he’s doing this for Prompto. But soon, he notices that the calmer his demeanour is, the less relaxed Prompto smells.

It’s probably an instinctive reaction. Prompto probably doesn’t even know he’s doing it. But it worries Noctis, as he can’t tell whether Prompto is nervous due to him or to because he might get called on to answer a question. But, there seems to be a correlation between Prompto’s comfort level and how many positive feelings Noctis is trying to project. 

Noctis can’t do anything about it in the middle of a classroom, but he resolves that from then on he will try and keep a tight leash on his scent profile when Prompto is around. Maybe these stupid rules that he’s been learning all his life will have a use after all. They can help him keep his skittish new friend feeling comfortable and welcome. 

⁂

One problem: not only does constantly manipulating his scent profile make Noctis feel like a fake bastard, it’s extremely tiring. The neutral, calm demeanour he projects in crowd situations like a classroom is specifically designed to take up as little energy as possible, and even _that_ makes Noctis need a half-hour nap at the end of every school day. 

When he gets home, he stops trying to force himself to project a scent so that he can actually relax. Another problem: Noctis’s natural scent profile is not positive at all. Because he’s so good at controlling himself, everyone around him thinks he’s content with his life and with himself. He’s got his dad, a lot of nobles, and everyone at school fooled. 

But as soon as he walks into his apartment, he can smell it. A stinking den of sour, negative emotions, all bundled together by a cloying, bitter depression. The garbage that piles up on every flat surface doesn’t smell half as bad in comparison. The fact that Noctis should always smell at least faintly depressed (_a bitter thread, like the slightest trace of almonds_) makes faking positive emotions doubly hard, because he’s fighting against his natural state. 

⁂

The first time in freshman year that Noctis invites Prompto to his apartment is great all the way up until the end. Noctis actually cleaned the place by himself for once, fearing that Prompto will smell the stink of his negative emotions infused into long-lived trash piles, or that the trash itself will make Prompto want to leave. Between the newfound cleanliness and the way that Prompto marvels at Noctis’s flat-screen TV and leather couches, Noctis feels like the alpha king of a fine den for once, instead of the pathetic lone squatter of a nasty junk heap. 

Because of this, he’s bursting with unfeigned happy-proud emotions the whole time. He knows Prompto can smell it because Prompto keeps sending him these fond, amused glances as Noctis shows him around. 

“Oh my god you have soooo many video games,” Prompto moans as he stands before Noctis’s impressive collection of consoles and disk organisers. The afternoon’s activity is decided: Chocobo Run, Nier Automata, and whatever else happens to strike their fancy as they play. 

The two of them get so caught up in playing that when it comes to the time Prompto said he’d leave by, they stop to get dinner and then carry on playing instead. 

It’s fine up until about midnight. 

“Man, I’m beat!” Prompto declares, putting down his video game controller. “I should probably look up the train schedule to make sure I don’t get stranded here tonight.”

It’s on the tip of Noctis’s tongue to ask him to stay the night. But as he puts down his own controller, he is hit by a wave of sudden tiredness. Noctis struggles to keep his scent consistent and his emotions positive and welcoming for Prompto, but it’s no good. Exhaustion and an unaccountable wave of frustration hits him, and he knows that there’s nothing he can do to keep them from being obvious to Prompto.

And moments later, Prompto crinkles his nose. His expression freezes. 

“I’m gonna go down to the train station now,” he says, and it’s so obvious that he’s forcing a casual tone that Noctis winces, hating himself a little for making Prompto feel unwanted. 

“But you haven’t looked up the schedule yet,” he protests. He doesn’t like the thought of Prompto waiting for half an hour on a cold platform somewhere because of him. 

“It’s fine, they post them all over the station, right? I can just look at it there,” Prompto says, throwing his stuff into his bag. “Thanks for having me over, Noct. I had a really good time.”

With that, he stands and walks over to the door to put his shoes back on. 

“Wait,” Noctis says, and Prompto turns to him, spotlighted in the bright lights directly over the entryway. A faint frown creases his forehead, as if he’s afraid he’s about to get scolded. 

Noctis thinks: there is no point in Prompto staying, because Noctis can’t control this and he probably won’t be able to pull the mask back on tonight. He might as well let Prompto go now to avoid making him feel very uncomfortable and unwelcome possibly all night and into tomorrow. 

So what Noctis says is, “Travel safe.”

The frown on Prompto’s forehead relaxes, and he smiles. “Thanks, Noct. See ya later!”

The door closes behind Prompto, and Noctis puts his head in his hands and berates himself for not being able to keep it together for even one full day. 

⁂

From then on, this is how it goes: Prompto and Noctis hang out at school or at Noctis’s apartment. Everything is fine. They have a good time, as long as Noctis watches himself constantly to make sure his emotions read properly. The energy Noctis gets back from Prompto is illuminating and strengthening. Being with him, a friend with a big heart who consistently makes him laugh and who doesn’t care a whit that he’s the prince, is worth every extra minute of welcoming posturing that Noctis forces himself to put on. 

But inevitably, Noctis becomes too tired to keep up the act anymore, and Prompto says his goodbyes and walks out the door. To Noctis, it’s like Cinderella leaving at midnight because her prince has turned into a pumpkin. Prompto is Cinderella and Noctis is the pumpkin. That’s not how the story’s supposed to go, but it’s how their time together always ends anyway.

⁂

The longer this goes on, the more frustrated Noctis becomes. Every time he tries to ask Prompto to stay, and every time he fails. Every time Prompto starts getting ready to leave Noctis smells a little more angry, a little more aggressive, because he’s pissed at himself for spoiling his time with his best friend and being unable to speak up about it, _again_. Because of this, the situation is untenable. 

It’s a Friday afternoon in the second year of their friendship. Prompto is hanging out in Noctis’s apartment, and they’ve been playing the recently-released Persona 5. Noctis teases Prompto that he’s like Ryuji, the main character’s best friend, but Prompto protests that he’s _much_ smarter than him, despite their similar spiky blond hair and boisterous enthusiasm. All in all, the mood has been good. 

But it’s been a long week for Noctis. He had a bunch of tests and essays all due at once, on top of his regular Citadel duties. If Prompto weren’t here, he would be napping, probably for at least four hours. But it’s most convenient for Prompto to come directly to Noctis’s apartment after school if they want to hang out, so that’s what they did. Now Noctis is paying the price for not putting the visit off until tomorrow. 

Noctis can feel his control slipping. He fights to keep the friendly scent-mask in place, but it’s just too exhausting. With a wave of despair, he lets it drop away. 

As expected, Prompto’s gaze snaps to Noctis’s face, then to the clock. “Oh - hey,” he says, as if he’s suddenly remembered some prior commitment. “I gotta go…”

Slumping down on the sofa, Noctis watches Prompto hastily throw all his stuff into his bag. _Don’t go,_ he thinks, as he’s thought all the times before. His mouth sullenly curves downward, and Noctis picks at the threads of the cushion beside him. 

_Stay,_ Noctis wishes, feeling his chest ache. Slinging his backpack over one shoulder, Prompto looks at Noctis’s face and his expression tightens. 

“Um, well… bye, I guess,” Prompto says, turning to leave. Noctis has had enough. He rallies his strength for one last effort to communicate and grabs Prompto’s wrist as he walks past the sofa. 

“Um?” Prompto says, stopping in his tracks. His nostrils flare imperceptibly as he smells the air. A frown crosses his face. 

Noctis takes a deep breath, keeping his gaze trained on Prompto’s hand, on the wrist that he’s still grasping. “Don’t go,” he says, and relief sweeps through him at the realisation that he finally managed to say it. _Don’t go._

Slowly, Prompto lets his bag slide from his shoulder and to the floor, where it lands with a soft thump. Prompto sits down on the couch next to Noctis, gently disentangling his wrist from Noctis’s fingers. 

“Are you okay, dude?” he asks. 

Noctis feels a flash of alarm - how is he supposed to answer that question? He knows Prompto must be smelling the depression on him. He doesn’t have the energy to pull it together and lie. So instead, he just shakes his head. 

There’s a silence for long moments as Prompto waits for Noctis to actually say something, but Noctis isn’t quite sure what to say next. 

“Just - stay,” he says finally. “Sorry I can’t keep… making you feel welcome.”

“Huh?” Prompto says. “What do you mean?”

“I can manipulate my scent. It’s part of the whole royalty bullshit,” Noctis explains. “Been trying to make you stay.”

“Huh? I still don’t get it. You’re faking that you want me here?”

“I do want you to be here,” Noctis says, a little desperately. “I’d stink _all the time_ if I didn’t hide it. I just wanted you to be comfortable.”

Prompto goes through a series of interesting facial expressions, finally settling on concern, but Noctis can smell that Prompto is both deeply guilty and genuinely touched.

“Well… thanks,” Prompto earnestly says. “But Noct, what’s wrong?”

A beat. “Dunno,” Noctis says darkly. He’s sure that the cocktail of negative emotions surrounding him now includes depression, stress, anxiety, and a little curdle of shame. He deeply wishes he could just get it together, but he knows by now that’s never going to happen.

Prompto gives a little sniff. “Smells like major stress, dude. How long has it been like this?”

“I don’t know, okay,” Noctis snaps, unwilling to go into the depths of his inadequacy. 

“Hey, hey,” Prompto says soothingly. “I’m just trying to help.” 

Noctis sighs. “I just don’t want to talk about it.”

“Okay,” Prompto says, nodding. Tentatively, he puts a hand on Noctis’s shoulder. The contact is grounding and Noctis wants to just soak it in. Instinctively, Noctis tips his head to the side and presses it against the back of Prompto’s warm hand. Prompto bites his lip, watching Noctis with seeming concentration. Gradually, Noctis becomes aware that Prompto is radiating a comforting, peaceful scent. It’s not very strong, but it’s clearly on purpose. Noctis gives Prompto a wan smile.

“Hey…” Prompto says quietly. “Can I do something for you?”

“Do what?” Noctis asks, tilting his head back up to look at Prompto’s face. 

Prompto inhales. “Well, it’s gonna be weird, but… it’s something I do myself when I get really… down.” He absently touches his neck with one hand as he speaks. Noctis tilts his head, wondering if this is going to turn inappropriate. “I looked online and apparently our necks are really sensitive because of the scent glands in them, so you can touch them to self-soothe, or you can do it to somebody else.”

Noctis is momentarily startled. To his knowledge, the only purpose of the scent glands is to rub up against someone in your pack and exchange scents with them. Scent glands are actually a bit of a misnomer. What they actually produce is pheromones, which the human vomeronasal organ and brain interpret as scents. But from the sound of it, Prompto is _not_ suggesting anything inappropriate, just… intimate. 

“Okay,” Noctis says, to both of their surprise. 

There is a slight pause, when Noctis thinks Prompto might retract the offer, but then he smiles. “Get comfy, then, ‘cuz I guarantee this is going to make you fall asleep,” Prompto says. Obligingly, Noctis lies back on the sofa, resting his head on a cushion propped up against the arm. Prompto gets up, then grabs the cushion from the other end of the sofa so he can put it under his knees while he kneels by Noctis’s head. And isn’t that an image for Noctis to remember. To make things less awkward, Noctis closes his eyes. 

There is a soft touch against his neck. Prompto testing with two fingers to see how sensitive Noctis is, if he’ll shy away. When he doesn’t, Prompto starts moving his fingers in small circles over Noctis’s skin, pressing gently in spots that make Noctis’s breath hitch. A wave of scent makes him crinkle his nose against a sudden onslaught of sour, negative emotions, and he realises that it’s himself he’s smelling. Unusual for the scent coming from him to be strong enough for him to sense it himself. Normally it fades into the background, the way wearing clothing doesn’t take up one’s attention until one spills water on it or something. 

“This is gross,” Noctis mutters, feeling embarrassed that Prompto must be smelling this too. If Prompto didn’t know what a mess Noctis was before this, he surely knows now. 

“Do you want me to stop?” Prompto asks, withdrawing his hand.

“Not if you don’t want to,” Noctis says, since the touch of Prompto’s hands feels good, even if it’s having an unfortunate side effect. 

“Well, if you’re sure… Tell me if you want me to stop though, okay?” Prompto says, hands tentatively hovering over Noctis.

“I know that. We’re not having sex, Prompto. Just get on with it,” Noctis jokes, and Prompto snorts. 

“So pushy,” he says, but his voice is quiet and Noctis can hear the fondness in it. Prompto resumes gently massaging Noctis’s neck, and Noctis wonders for a moment. 

Noctis has two fully bonded pack members already: Ignis and Gladio (beta and alpha), who are friend-bonded to him. He has sort of been considering Prompto as a candidate for the fourth member of the pack. Now he realises that maybe Prompto already is pack-bonded to him and he didn’t notice it happen. How strange, how wonderfully organic. Is this how normal people enter into bonded relationships? Noctis hopes that Prompto feels it too.

Prompto’s hands are warm, gentle, persistent. As he continues working his fingers in gentle circles over Noctis’s neck, the scent exuding from Noctis begins to change. The dark, curdled scents fade, to be replaced with something deeply calming, soft, and clean. Prompto can’t help but be affected by it and his own scent changes to match Noctis’s so the two of them are harmonising. 

Noctis lets out a deep sigh of heartfelt release and lets his body completely relax. A strange, floating sensation begins to come over him. Still Prompto’s hands move on him softly. A few moments later, they move from his neck to his left wrist, then to the right one. A part of Noctis wishes Prompto would just hold his hand, but the thought drifts away. 

A few moments later, Prompto shifts as if to get up. 

“Prompto,” Noctis says, every part of his body heavy and replete. 

“Yeah?” Prompto says quietly, stroking the inside of Noctis’s wrist with one thumb.

“_Stay,_” Noctis whispers for the second time that day, and in a way he means _forever_.

Prompto gets up. The couch dips as Prompto sits down at Noctis’s hip, putting a hand on Noctis’s chest. Comforted, Noctis falls asleep. 

Hours and hours pass. Noctis’s sleep is deep and complete. The sun turns, the moon turns, and the sun starts to turn again. Day into night, and night into day.

Slowly, Noctis begins to become aware of his surroundings again. He feels incredibly relaxed, and doesn’t want to open his eyes. But he can hear Prompto’s voice somewhere nearby.

Prompto is singing. 

_I’m not scared if you run to me_  
_Lost like when you weren’t mine_  
_You can take what you want from me_  
_Just offer me your time_

_Stay_  
_Life can be long_  
_Wanna know, wanna know, wanna know, wanna know it’s true_  
_When you say “I want you around”_  
_You gotta make me believe you_

His voice is clearly untrained, but talented and earnest. Noctis doesn’t recognise the song Prompto is singing, but he thinks that he likes it. 

_Oh, I know it’s not the right time tonight_  
_But I won’t move until this stops_  
_Go back to the top, oh, back to the top_

Noctis thinks this might be the gentlest waking he’s ever had in his life. As Prompto finishes the song, Noctis’s eyes flutter open. 

Prompto’s not on the couch with him anymore, and his backpack has disappeared from where he dropped it earlier. But clearly, he is still here. He was singing just moments ago. The scent emanating from Noctis has calmed and the smell that now dominates the apartment is of something frying. Noctis hears the sizzle of hot oil in a pan. Kitchen?

After stretching luxuriously, Noctis sits up and peers over the back of the sofa to the kitchen area, where Prompto is indeed standing at the stove, holding a spatula and humming to himself. Taking the pan from the heat, Prompto sets it on a potholder on the counter. Then he looks up and sees that Noctis is awake. 

Prompto smiles and Noctis smiles back. He feels amazing. 

“Good morning,” Prompto says sheepishly, and Noctis’s jaw drops. 

“Morning?” he exclaims, looking over to the clock. The shafts of sunlight streaming in from the balcony confirm what the clock says: it’s 8:00 in the morning, earlier than Noctis has woken up of his own accord in literally years. 

“Yeah, sorry,” Prompto says. He sounds nervous, and Noctis looks back at him to see that he’s using the spatula to move the contents of the frying pan - eggs and bacon - to two plates. “I kinda slept over?” Prompto says in a rush. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were going to sleep that long, and you told me not to leave, so I didn’t know what to do.”

Noctis hesitates. “Where did you sleep?”

“I used the other couch,” Prompto says. “Why? Is there a guest bed I don’t know about or something?”

No, there isn’t one, there’s just Noctis’s bed and these two sofas. Noctis doesn’t know whether to be disappointed or relieved that Prompto didn’t use his bed. On the one hand, it would be very unusual, socially-speaking, for someone to sleep in the bed of someone they’re not officially bonded to without permission. On the other hand, it would be nice to have Prompto’s scent on his bed. That’s an admission he immediately shuts down, not ready to think about all its myriad implications. 

“Guess I’ll have to see about getting a futon,” Noctis only comments. 

Prompto looks up with a surprised smile on his face. Getting to his feet Noctis stretches again, then ambles over to the kitchen table and sits down at it expectantly. 

“I feel amazing,” Noctis announces as Prompto brings him a plate and glass. 

“You’re really not mad that I just knocked you out for over twelve hours by accident?” Prompto says, returning to the counter for his own plate and glass. 

“Hell no,” Noctis says. There’s a shaft of sunlight laid over the table, and it’s coating him in warmth. His skin glows whenever his hands pass into the light. Prompto has made a smiley face on the plate with the eggs and bacon, because of course he has. Picking up his fork, Noctis feels content. 

For a few moments, they eat in silence. Prompto still seems a little nervous, but it’s not unusual for him so Noctis doesn’t comment on it. He’ll come out and say whatever it is that’s bothering him whenever he feels ready to say it. And nothing is going to ruin Noctis’s mood this morning. He’s up a whole four hours early, so there’s nothing on his schedule. He can do whatever the hell he wants, and isn’t that an incredible thought.

“Noct,” Prompto says after a little while, pushing his egg around on his plate, “You’re okay with what we did, right?”

“What? Yeah, of course I am,” Noctis says. A thought strikes him like a lightning bolt, jolting him out of his good mood. “You are too, right?” 

For all Noctis’s joking that they weren’t having sex, if Prompto actually felt uncomfortable with doing that—

“Yeah, I… it was nice,” Prompto says, and he seems completely honest. Noctis sighs, instantly relieved and calm again. 

“Don’t scare me like that,” he says, shovelling up the last of his bacon. He is still hungry. 

“Sorry,” Prompto says. Noctis raises an eyebrow at him, chastising him for apologising again when it isn’t necessary, and Prompto smiles sheepishly. 

“Hey, um, listen,” Prompto says, finally cutting up his food for real instead of just playing with it, “if you ever need me to do that again, I’ll do it for you anytime.” 

To Noctis’s shock and confusion, tears spring to his eyes. Grabbing his empty plate, he gets up and rushes to the fridge to hide his face. Setting his plate on the counter and opening the door to let the cool air wash over his face, he struggles to hold back a sob. He can have this again? It’s not a one-time thing? He can be close to Prompto and wake up in sunshine and comfort more than one day in his life? Once was already _so much_. 

Taking a deep breath, Noctis musters all of his alpha royalty training to get himself under control and his scent profile back to normal. Then he grabs some bread to put into the toaster. By the time he sits down with Prompto he feels calm again; and if he’s not as relaxed, it’s because he’s agitated in a good way, not a bad one. 

“Thank you,” he says to Prompto sincerely, and Prompto blushes and looks down at his plate. 

⁂

The possibility that Prompto might have accidentally become the fourth member of Noctis’s pack is an idea that takes up a good deal of real estate in Noctis’s brain for a long time after the first time Prompto soothes him. 

The forming and maintaining of a pack is a messy business for most people. Packs members can be joined by familial, platonic or romantic bonds. Usually, best friends and life partners are included. Bonds are not always forever, although they are idealised to be. As with most things relating to gender and relationships, pack formation has always been mostly out of Noctis’s control. Gladio and Ignis were friend-bonded to him at a young age, before any of them really knew each other. They’re definitely his real friends, but Noctis knows that none of them will ever have a choice about whether to leave the pack. They’re staying for life, and that’s that. 

Unlike with Ignis or Gladio, there’s no guarantee Prompto will stay forever, unless Noctis specifically asks him to make that kind of commitment. At least Noctis knows that Ignis and Gladio won’t object if he formally asks Prompto to join their pack. They’ve both seen the positive effect Prompto has had on him (even if they don’t know how it was produced) and heard Noctis call him his best friend, and would not begrudge Noctis the happiness of making the bond between them official.

But exactly what kind of bond does Noctis think that he and Prompto should have?

When someone asks another person to join their pack as a long-term romantic mate, the traditional way to do it is to ask if they will run with them. Metaphorically, of course. Some say it’s an ancient remnant of a long-dead hunter-gatherer civilisation, where packs really did run for hours together to catch prey through persistence hunting. Some say it’s because of the medieval comparison of human packs to wolf packs, which most people now know is scientifically unsound but find romantic all the same. 

Noctis wants to ask Prompto to run with him. Badly. But it’s not something he can communicate via scent, the language over which he has the most fluid control. 

⁂

Over the next year and a half, Prompto soothes Noctis by massaging his scent glands many more times for him. Although the effect is never as strong as it was the first time, putting Noctis to sleep for a few hours rather than all night, it’s still one of the best things Noctis has ever experienced and something he deeply looks forward to. He wishes he didn’t have to experience strong negative emotions in order to justify requesting it from Prompto and could just ask him to do it whenever, but maybe then they’d never get anything done. 

Prompto does teach him how to do it himself. Learning to do it on Prompto is really awkward for him, but Prompto seems to enjoy it, so Noctis considers it a success. As for himself, Prompto seems to be naturally better at soothing Noctis than he is. 

Or maybe it’s just that he enjoys the Prompto part of the equation as much as all the other parts of it. 

After the second time, Prompto tells him, over the course of a conversation: “Dude. You know you don’t need to waste so much energy hiding your feelings around me all the time. They don’t bother me, you know? I wanna know the real you. If you say you like hanging out with me and we’re friends and you’re having a good time, I believe you. That’s all I need to know. It doesn’t matter what you smell like as long as you say you want me here. I’ll stay.”

This is the first time since he was a child that anyone’s explicitly given Noctis permission to let his real emotions show. He tears up for the second time, at the thought that being himself around Prompto could actually be _okay_. That Prompto could like him and understand him even without the weird, fucked up mask he’s been wearing for half his life. 

This time Prompto sees him tear up, which is embarrassing even though Prompto doesn’t comment on it, just looks at him in wide-eyed concern as Noctis hides his face. But aside from being the best part of his life, this whole experience is embarrassing for Noctis in so many ways. It’s so… vulnerable. If Ignis or Gladio knew he was doing this, he would have to warp into the sun right on the spot.

“You won’t tell anyone about this, right?” he asks Prompto after the third session. 

“What?” Prompto says. “No way! People do NOT need to know about this. It would be way too weird, and it’s none of their beeswax.” 

Noctis is ridiculously grateful that they are on the same page. 

This should have been the end of Noctis’s worries over his and Prompto’s secret ritual. Unfortunately, he is an incorrigible dumbass, and several months after they first start it, this happens:

“Stay,” Noctis mutters as Prompto pulls away. “Nap with me…”

Immediately he is stunned by his own audacity in making possibly the most embarrassing request of his life. Whatever will he blurt out next? _“I accidentally called Ignis ‘Mom’ once?” “I fell down the stairs in front of an entire noble pack in the sixth grade and I need you to know about it?”_

But Prompto, like the champion best friend that he is, replies, “Wait, really? Dude, I thought you’d never ask!” and immediately plops down on the sofa beside Noctis, wrapping his arms around him and holding him so they’ll both fit without falling off.

In the moments he can think about it without judging himself too much, Noctis knows that he’s in heaven. If he stops to think about it a little more, maybe he would notice that as a consequence of all this messing about with pheromones, his and Prompto’s dynamic is subtly changing. Noctis already thought of Prompto as his best friend, as a tentative part of his lifelong pack. But with all this intimacy around, that bond is solidifying, becoming strong and complex, compelling the two of them together. 

They’ve even started to _smell_ like each other. Ignis comments on the change in Noctis’s scent once, but lets the matter drop when Noctis just looks at him in confusion. 

Noctis starts to let himself notice Prompto in new ways. His hands, gentle but precise, long-fingered and skilled. His voice, dusky and sweet. Then his mouth, always smiling and inviting. His eyes, blue-violet and fond. 

Sunny, silly, rash, and playful; yet understanding, thoughtful, and strong. That’s the Prompto that Noctis comes to know. And admittedly, to love. Even… to want. 

⁂

Finally, it happens, in the winter of their senior year: Prompto is the one who cracks and gives himself away. 

It’s a Friday evening, which is the most frequent time Prompto massages Noctis’s neck and then naps with him. The sixth time this school year, but who’s counting, really? 

When Prompto’s done, there’s a momentary pause. Usually this is the part where he tucks himself up against Noctis’s side and they both take a well-earned, pheromone-fueled nap. But instead, he doesn’t move. Noctis, boneless and relaxed, considers opening his eyes. 

But before he can, he hears a little intake of breath, and freezes. Prompto is much closer to him than he had been imagining - right up beside him, in fact. His soft breaths brush against the side of Noctis’s neck. And then, the softest velvety touch as Prompto kisses him there.

Noctis opens his eyes, neck tingling and arousal spiking. He feels bad about the latter, assuming he’s misinterpreted Prompto’s gesture, but - if his nose doesn’t deceive him - it had the same effect on Prompto. He finds himself looking into Prompto’s eyes, Prompto with his mouth pressed shut and looking more than a bit mortified.

“Uh, I,” Prompto starts, not seeming to know what to say.

There’s still that trace of desire curling in the air like the faintest scent of flowers.

“You want me?” is all Noctis can think to say. 

Prompto looks taken aback, but surprised is better than offended. “What if I do?” he says, bolder than Noctis had expected. 

Noctis thinks about it. This all seems so natural. He’s been lost for Prompto for maybe a long time. Prompto is someone he trusts, someone he finds beautiful. Someone he can see himself running with for a long time if destiny would have it. 

“Then we should go to the bed, because I don’t wanna do it on the sofa,” he says, meeting Prompto’s gaze.

Noctis should have known better, as his words have an effect on Prompto opposite to the desired one - instead of looking excited, he seems to get more nervous. 

“Right now?” he says, leaning away. 

“Not if you don’t want to,” says Noctis, though he hopes that’s obvious. But Prompto does want to, he can still smell it. Noctis holds out his hand. “Maybe I should kiss you first.”

At that, Prompto inhales deeply. He closes his eyes and leans forward until his cheek is cupped in Noctis’s waiting fingers. He’s beautiful and vulnerable, golden feathered eyelashes against pale freckled skin. Not knowing where his courage is coming from, Noctis leans forward and kisses Prompto’s lips, careful, slow, so Prompto can shy away if he wants to.

He doesn’t.

As Noctis kisses him, Prompto melts against him. 

“This is good,” he says breathlessly, and Noctis feels the smile on his lips as he deepens the kiss. Their breaths are coming shorter now, and the heat of Prompto’s mouth calls forth an answering heat between Noctis’s legs. The smell of ardent arousal coils around them like a lush garden in bloom. 

“My room?” Noctis prompts again, breathless and low. 

“Yeah,” Prompto agrees, and Noctis can see the anticipation in his eyes. He stands, grabbing Prompto’s hand and pulling him with him. They could kiss their way through the apartment but it’s much faster to just walk there, their fingers entwined tight and sweaty with anticipation. 

“I never thought this would happen,” Noctis says as they reach his door. He stops. “You’re an omega.” It’s an obvious fact about Prompto that Noctis has known for literally years, but Noctis only learnt Prompto was interested in him _like this_ ten minutes ago and it’s taken until now for the full ramifications of that to hit him.

Prompto laughs, high because he’s nervous. “That’s me,” he says, opening the door, and Noctis just stands there. This - this is - 

His best friend an omega who’s interested in him - what an honour, what a thrill. 

Noctis swallows, lets go of Prompto’s hand and takes him into his arms, kissing him again. Prompto’s body presses up against him, and their hips brush through layers of cloth. Noctis has to remind himself to be gentle, to keep from being too aggressive and scaring him, even as they back towards the bed and Noctis strips his own shirt from his body and dumps it on the floor. Then Prompto’s hands are shyly touching his chest, roaming over it with feather-light touches that tickle more than tease. 

“Harder,” Noctis says.

“My dick’s not even out,” Prompto jokes, which has them both giggling until Prompto’s fingers find one of Noctis’s nipples and Noctis breaks off into a moan. Growing bolder now, Prompto fingers Noctis’s nipples until they flare into erect points, making his breathing turn ragged and sending lightning humming through his veins. He runs his hands up and down Prompto’s still-clothed sides, hoping it’s enough though he’s too distracted to really focus on anything other than the new feelings of Prompto’s hands on his body. Eventually he starts tugging at the hem of Prompto’s t-shirt and Prompto lets him remove it. 

Shirtless Prompto is a beautiful freckled-pale-golden sight, but Noctis doesn’t admire it for long in case being looked at makes Prompto nervous. Instead, Noctis gives into a long-held desire and starts kissing Prompto’s neck, which makes Prompto gasp and his eyelids flutter closed. He shies away and takes a step back, running into the bed and stumbling before finally sitting down with a soft bounce against the mattress. Noctis waits to see whether Prompto will get up again. Instead, Prompto shyly holds out a hand, inviting Noctis onto the bed with him. 

It takes a moment of awkward giggling and limb finagling, but they get themselves arranged lying on their sides facing each other. An optimum position for both of them to touch each other at the same time. Noctis holds fast to Prompto’s waist while Prompto runs his fingers over Noctis’s chest again, and they kiss hot and deep. After it seems that Prompto’s grown comfortable again, Noctis returns to licking and sucking on his neck. He knows it’s going to leave a bruise but Prompto is moaning and his hips are jerking involuntarily and grinding into Noctis’s own, and he smells more aroused than Noctis has ever smelled anyone before. Gathering his courage, Noctis rolls Prompto onto his back and gets on his hands and knees over him, kissing and biting at Prompto’s collarbones gently.

“This okay?” Noctis makes sure to ask.

“Yes - yes,” Prompto moans, face completely pink. He seems a little embarrassed at how turned on he is, fidgeting his hips again. Noctis knows he’d better get a move on in case this ends sooner than they both expect.

“Can I - is it okay if I take your pants off?” Noctis hears himself say, as he licks his lips and looks back into Prompto’s flushed and hooded gaze. Prompto’s eyelashes flutter as he takes a ragged breath. His eyes flick to Noctis’s face and back to his hands, like he’s thinking of all the things Noctis could be thinking of doing to him. He swallows convulsively.

“Yeah. Yeah,” Prompto says, reaching up to run his hands over Noctis’s back. Noctis takes a deep breath, kisses Prompto’s lips and prays he won’t fuck this up, then pops the button on Prompto’s jeans. Prompto hisses in another breath as Noctis leaves a hasty trail of kisses down Prompto’s body, until he reaches Prompto's waistband. After pulling down the zipper, Noctis slips one finger inside and touches Prompto’s clothed erection for the first time. Prompto immediately bucks his hips up and murmurs, “_yes, yes,_” so Noctis experimentally touches him there a few more times before finally slipping Prompto’s jeans and underwear over his hips and starting to pull them down his legs.

As he does so, a powerful new scent hits Noctis’s nose. If his pupils weren’t already dilated to their fullest extent, they would have expanded like sudden eclipses. He sucks in a breath and instinctively parts Prompto’s thighs, then shoves his face between them. It’s the scent of Prompto’s physical arousal, his entrance dripping wet and enticing right in front of Noctis’s face. Hindsight will tell him he should have expected this, with an omega, but for now he’s immediately compelled to get down on his knees and taste Prompto.

Noctis’s tongue strokes against Prompto’s velvety-soft skin and Prompto groans out Noctis’s name. Noctis is still trying to force himself to kiss and to lick and to touch as gently as possible, but his hands are inadvertently gripping Prompto’s thighs tightly enough for his nails to dig in so that Prompto surely feels a bit of a constant gentle bite, a rough contrast to the soft wetness of Noctis’s tongue. If it weren’t for Noctis’s grip, Prompto would be reflexively rutting his hips without stopping. Noctis licks and kisses him over and over, Prompto’s lush taste coating his eager tongue. It’s heady and it’s intoxicating, one of the best things Noctis has ever experienced.

Some time into this delight, Noctis notices Prompto’s hand come down, looks up, and sees Prompto fingering his own erection as Noctis continues to eat him out. Noctis manages to unstick one of his hands from Prompto’s thigh, reaches up and starts inexpertly touching Prompto at the same time as he flicks his tongue into Prompto’s entrance. A few moments later, Prompto cries out and his body stiffens as he cums. Noctis pulls away and watches Prompto shake and move his hand up and down his own length a few more times until he finally lies still in a panting, sweating, thoroughly pleasured heap. 

Noctis wastes no time in practically ripping his own pants open, shoving his hand inside, and starting to work himself over as hard and fast as he can, licking his lips to try and get the taste of Prompto back on his tongue. Closing his eyes, he tilts his head back and pants out ragged breaths. 

“Noct,” he hears Prompto say, and then there is heat against his hips as Prompto puts his hands back on Noctis’s body. 

“Yeah, like that,” Noctis says, hardly knowing what he’s saying at this point. Prompto takes it as an invitation to put his hand inside Noctis’s pants and stroke Noctis’s dick along with him. One of Prompto’s searching fingers finds the sensitive knot that seems to have risen at the base of Noctis’s dick. That’s all it takes for Noctis to cry out in his turn and cum all over both of their hands. 

They both collapse back onto the bed, Noctis grabbing onto Prompto and holding him as they both come down from their orgasms. Noctis is exhausted and suddenly a little cold. Fortunately, a few moments later Prompto is using the tissues on the nightstand to hastily clean them both off. Noctis hears rustling, cracks an eye open and sees Prompto putting his boxers back on. Then, Prompto pulls the duvet over them and lies down beside him again.

“Noct,” Prompto says softly, and Noctis groans. A groan of annoyance this time, because he mostly just wants to sleep. 

“You’re tired?” Prompto asks. Noctis nods. “Me too,” Prompto admits. “We can nap? And then talk?”

“Nap first. Talk later,” Noctis confirms, so Prompto snuggles up to him. It’s warm and soft, napping with Prompto. It’s familiar and comforting. Noctis doesn’t even have to think about it, just happily passes out. 

A few hours later Noctis wakes up to find Prompto still curled up beside him. He remembers what happened. So, he finally did manage to get Prompto to sleep in his bed. It only took what, three years?

“Hey,” he says, unable to hold back a smile. 

“Hey yourself,” Prompto says back, eyes searching Noctis’s face. He seems nervous again. Noctis kisses him on the cheek and Prompto immediately calms, reaching out to take Noctis’s hand. 

“So that was, uh. Pretty cool of you to eat me out,” Prompto tries to say nonchalantly, but he’s blushing like a tomato. 

“Wasn’t planned,” Noctis admits. “You smell amazing.”

“Well, it was uh. Nice,” Prompto says, and Noctis laughs. 

“Yeah. Me too.”

There’s silence for a moment. Cautiously, as if fearing Noctis might push him away, Prompto kisses Noctis’s cheek. Noctis just blinks at him, giving a small smile.

“So, uh… are we gonna do this again?” Prompto asks.

“Sure,” Noctis says easily. Prompto smiles a delighted and genuine smile. Then, his expression turns mischievous. 

“I can’t believe you got a knot just from eating me out.”

Noctis remembers that. It’s his turn to blush ever-so-slightly. “Don’t make fun of me, omega.” 

“I’m not making fun of you. I’m… flattered, actually. It all happened so fast I didn’t even stop to think about how you would see me, but I’m glad… you liked it.”

Noctis snorts with amusement. _“You’re glad I liked your junk?”_ he almost says, but then he stops himself. “I like a lot of stuff about you,” he says instead. 

“Eww, so cheesy,” Prompto says, lightly punching Noctis in the shoulder. The effect is ruined slightly by the fact that he’s blushing again. “So, uh. Does this mean…” Prompto pauses, bites his lip. “Are we…”

Noctis just raises an eyebrow, waiting patiently for Prompto to muddle through. 

“What are we, Noct?” Prompto blurts out. Noctis snorts, but it’s a question he’s been putting thought into already for longer than Prompto could know.

“We’re best friends?” Noctis says.

“Uh-huh,” Prompto agrees.

“We… uh. We could be packmates,” Noctis offers. 

“I kinda hoped we already were,” Prompto says. “Most people don’t scent-soothe each other and nap together all the time unless they’re in a pack. But I’ve never had one before, so… I don’t know.”

“Yeah,” Noctis says, relieved that Prompto seems to have been on the same page as him this whole time. “It was all new to me, but I felt it too.”

“Oh. Oh. Good,” Prompto says. “And then…”

He trails off. Noctis’s thoughts lead him down the path of: Prompto is too unsure of himself, or unsure of Noctis to continue. Since the beginning of their relationship, both of them have been unsure of where the other stands. Prompto did all the hard work to break through to Noctis: staying when Noctis asked, teaching him vulnerability and accepting him with all his problems, being brave enough to kiss him and to start this conversation. But now is the time. Noctis will not be worthy of Prompto if he does not speak up. No hesitation, no uncertainty. Speak!

“Will you run with me?” Noctis asks. Prompto’s jaw drops. “Will you?” Noctis says again. 

Prompto just stares. “I thought you were gonna ask me to be your datemate or something. You know, casual? I didn’t expect you to just go all out and ask me to run with you! That’s supposed to be for like… years and years, dude! Right?” The unsaid is, _Are you sure? Are you sure you want to ask me?_

“What can I say? I’m a traditionalist,” Noctis says wryly. He’s an obligate traditionalist because he’s the alpha crown prince. But truth be told, the idea of _datemates_ never even crossed his mind. His heart wants something more profound and it’s time he confessed it. “But I mean it, Prompto.”

And he’s admittedly a little nervous that Prompto hasn’t said yes yet. If Prompto were to move his hand five inches forward and touch Noctis’s chest, he could feel how fast Noctis’s heart is racing. 

“I…” Prompto says. He sniffs and Noctis sees his eyes go glossy. “Yes,” Prompto says in a wobbly voice. He pushes his face forward into Noctis’s chest, and Noctis enfolds him in the protective circle of his arms. Far from the shy and touch-starved boy Noctis was at the beginning of their relationship, he doesn’t hesitate in this now. That’s Prompto’s doing, too. Noctis will return all that Prompto has given him tenfold, if Prompto will let him.

Prompto draws back in Noctis’s grasp, still pink-cheeked and teary-eyed, and kisses Noctis on the lips. When Noctis passionately kisses him back, Prompto moves to straddle Noctis’s hips. Noctis holds Prompto closer, and the both of them are smiling into their next kiss. The full, sweet, intense scent of joy that emanates from Noctis in this moment is entirely honest, entirely real.

**Author's Note:**

> Songs in this fic:  
Owner Of A Lonely Heart - [Yes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LLzPPFc21o) or [Ninja Sex Party](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83E82TMNSrE) versions  
To The Top - [Twin Shadow](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8ofhjI6ODc) (lyrics lightly altered) ([here's a live solo ver if you'd like some help imagining Prompto singing it](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmlGuB7pDqg))
> 
> Comments always welcome, but please be nice!


End file.
